I'll make you the furnace and the cauldron, so you can refine Yin and Yang and prove the Great

"One year and two months," Li Hanshan answered truthfully.

Elder Gong's fingers tightened slightly for a moment as he held the rolled-up scroll.

He lowered his head, reopened the scroll, and scanned the intricate array diagrams and marginal annotations twice. He turned the pages more slowly than before, as if he wanted to carefully examine the contents of each page before turning the page.

He stopped abruptly on a certain page, his fingertip pointing to a repeatedly marked turning point in the runes. After a moment of silence, he spoke: "For this deduction path, you used the 'Reverse Flow Guidance' technique. This technique is not recorded in any of the existing array-related texts of the Immortal Alliance. Where did you learn about it?"

"When I was repairing the Flowing Light Array flags, I deduced this from the original rune structure of those flags," Li Hanshan said calmly, standing before the stone platform. "Although most of the runes on those flags were damaged, the core logic of spiritual energy flow was relatively intact. After spending some time restoring it, I discovered that this flow logic was fundamentally different from conventional array techniques. Conventional array techniques emphasize a combination of 'blocking and dredging,' prioritizing dredging while supplementing by blocking leaks. However, the core concept of ancient arrays is exactly the opposite; it prioritizes blocking, only setting dredging nodes at the most critical locations. I later verified this judgment within the ancient restrictions, discovering that the underlying logic of the two restriction systems is indeed interconnected."

Elder Gong closed the scroll and placed it on the stone platform, then looked up at Li Hanshan. His eyes, sharp as lightning, swirled with a complex mix of emotions: scrutiny, shock, and unmistakable admiration.

He remained silent for several breaths before speaking: "You've deduced to this extent in just one year. I've been researching ancient formations for hundreds of years. If I were to do this, it would take at least a hundred years to reach your current progress."

He paused, his voice lower than before, "In the art of formations, talent is more important than effort. Some people spend their entire lives and still can't even touch the threshold of ancient formations, while others can grasp their core logic in a very short time. You belong to the latter. And you are among the best of the latter. In my more than a thousand years of life, I have never seen another person with such comprehension of ancient formations."

Li Hanshan clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, saying nothing more. Elder Gong's gaze lingered on him for a long time, the scrutiny fading considerably, replaced by a warmth that naturally emanated from his appreciation of talent, unlike anything he had shown before.

He stood up, walked to a row of wooden shelves on the side of the hall, took down a dark blue storage bag from the top shelf, placed it on the stone platform, and pushed it in front of Li Hanshan: "There are some advanced manuals from the Array Hall inside. They should be enough for you for now. Take them back and study them slowly. If you don't understand anything, you can come and ask this elder at any time."

Li Hanshan took the storage bag and quickly scanned it with his divine sense. Inside, there were more than a dozen jade slips and animal hide books neatly stacked. The contents covered multiple aspects such as array structure analysis, spiritual power circulation deduction, and ancient rune variants. The quality and depth of the information far exceeded the peripheral materials he could find on the third floor of the library.

He carefully put it away, thanked him sincerely, and then steered the conversation toward the progress of the ancient restriction: "Elder, I have now pried open the outer structure of the first layer of the restriction. If given some more time, I should be able to try to enter the second layer. I have never heard you explain the exact location and entry conditions of that underwater secret realm in detail."

Elder Gong shook his head, his tone even more solemn than before: "There's no rush. The secret realm is located in the deepest part of the Endless Sea, and it's not the right time to enter yet. I suggest you first advance your research on the restrictions to a point where you are 100% certain before considering actual combat. As for the specific details of the secret realm, I will naturally inform you in detail once you have made that progress."

Li Hanshan nodded: "Disciple understands. Then let's continue the research."

Elder Gong's satisfaction deepened upon seeing his prompt agreement. He stood up from the stone platform and walked to the window on the side of the hall, which was inlaid with spirit wood. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the wood's texture, casting dappled shadows on his silver-white robe.

He stood with his back to Li Hanshan for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "During your time in the Array Hall, besides studying that ancient restriction, is there anything else you'd like to learn about? For example, certain special types of arrays, or areas that you're interested in but haven't had the chance to explore yet."

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat. He knew he couldn't answer this question casually. Although Elder Gong's attitude towards him had clearly improved, building trust wasn't something that could be done overnight.

He needed to carefully choose his words, expressing his genuine need without sounding overly eager. He paused for a moment, then spoke: "While repairing the Flowing Light Array flags, I noticed that their construction differed significantly from the Immortal Alliance's conventional array formations. I've been wondering, where did the Immortal Alliance's array system originate? Were those ancient flags developed by the Immortal Alliance's forefathers, or were they inherited from an even more ancient tradition?"

Elder Gong turned around, his gaze lingering on Li Hanshan's face for a moment. He clearly hadn't expected Li Hanshan to approach the issue from this angle, but it was indeed a reasonable question a formation master would ask. He walked back to the stone platform and sat down again, remaining silent for a moment before speaking: "The Immortal Alliance's formation system has a very complex origin. Some of it was deduced by formation masters throughout history, while the rest was reconstructed from ancient ruins excavated from various places. The array flags of the Flowing Light Array belong to the latter; they weren't created by the Immortal Alliance, but were discovered along with the core immortal island. As for the teleportation array—"

He paused, his gaze lingering on Li Hanshan's face for a moment, as if judging whether he was too enthusiastic about the question. "The technology of teleportation arrays also has a similar origin. About two thousand years ago, the Immortal Alliance found incomplete teleportation array blueprints in an ancient ruin deep in the Endless Sea. Later, through the continuous repair and completion by array masters of all generations, the teleportation array system we use today was formed."

Li Hanshan remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he quickly connected this information with the clues he already knew. The technology behind the teleportation array originated from ancient ruins, all of which were extremely old.

While the Yao Guang Sect possesses teleportation arrays, they are not skilled in this art, and the girl herself cannot set them up. This implies that the Immortal Alliance's teleportation array technology and the Yao Guang Sect's lineage are not on the same track. They may originate from an earlier tradition, from more ancient times.

Elder Gong then took out a scroll wrapped in dark blue animal hide from his sleeve, placed it on the stone platform, and pushed it towards him: "This is a basic theory of teleportation arrays that I compiled in my early years. The content isn't very advanced, but it covers the core principles and basic rune structure of teleportation arrays. Take a look at it first, and if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me. As for more advanced teleportation array diagrams and setup techniques, I'll decide whether to let you access them once you've thoroughly understood the basics."

Li Hanshan put the rolled-up animal hide manuscript into his hand. It felt slightly heavy, and he could sense an extremely pure spiritual energy fluctuation within it. He put it away carefully and solemnly clasped his hands in a salute to Elder Gong: "Thank you, Elder. This disciple will study it carefully."

Elder Gong waved his hand, indicating that he could leave: "Go. There are no other matters for you to handle at the Array Hall for the time being, so you can focus on your research. If there is any emergency, you can contact me at any time using the communication talisman."

As Li Hanshan left the main hall, the afternoon sun was pouring in from outside the hall, casting his shadow as a long, dark silhouette on the bluestone floor.

He walked through the corridor on the side of the array hall, along the path shaded by spirit trees, to the teleportation array. He poured his spiritual power into the array base, and the moment the silvery-white light shone, his figure disappeared from the array hall.

By the time we returned to the plaza outside the gate of Zilei Pavilion, dusk had already fallen.

Instead of rushing back to his southern cave dwelling, he stood under a spirit tree at the edge of the plaza and took out the dark blue animal hide scroll, unfolding it. The scroll contained more detailed information than Elder Gong had described, from the basic rune structure of the teleportation array to the calculation method of the spiritual power consumption of teleportation arrays at different distances, and then to the earth vein conditions and safety measures that needed to be considered when setting up the teleportation array—every item was written in extreme detail.

He went through those core contents in his mind and confirmed that the key logic was indeed the same as the spatial rune theory he learned from Luo Li in the dream, but from different branches.

With this basic theory as the framework, coupled with Luo Li's understanding of spatial runes and his understanding of the spatial principles he obtained after killing the Heavenly Demon from the ruins of the Yao Guang Sect, he is confident that he can deduce a complete plan for setting up an inter-domain teleportation array in the near future.

Two more years.

enough!